How to Create and Sew a Vinyl Pocket

Vinyl pockets are perfect additions to a bag or fabric bin! If you are making this to stitch to a gift basket of goodies, you might include a gift card in the pocket. If you are using it for storage, it’s nice to write what is stored within the bin on a small piece of paper and stick it in the pocket window.

For this quick tutorial, you need a scrap of vinyl measuring 3″ x 4″ and then, 4 scrap pieces of fabric that measure 2″ x 5″. You’ll also need a teflon coated foot or a roller foot for your sewing machine when working with vinyl.

1. Using a 1/4″ seam allowance, stitch a piece of fabric to both long sides of the vinyl.

Press both flaps out on the fabric only; don’t touch the vinyl with the iron, it will melt! Topstitch 1/8″ over from the seam on the fabric side to hold fabric in place. It doesn’t really matter which is front and back, but, I dubbed this my backside.

Trim down the fabric to be the same width (4″) as the vinyl. Then, press a 1/4″ in and then, press the fabric flap in half to meet the seam (again, making sure to avoid touching the vinyl with the iron).

This is my front side.

Now, repeat what you did with the first 2 strips, sewing a strip to either side of the vinyl using a 1/4″ seam allowance.

Trim, leaving about a 1/2″ on either side of both strips.

Press and topstitch as you did before.

Press in a 1/4″ as you did with the first 2 strips.

Then, fold the excess in and cover the raw edges of the first two sewn strips. You can trim these down a bit more if needed; leave a minimum of a 3/8″ fabric pressed in, top and bottom.

Then, press in to meet the seam as you did before.

Before stitching to the bag/bin, open the right and left strips out and top stitch close to the seam on the fabric side of the seam, along the top and bottom strips. Then, close the right and left flaps in and top stitch those strips down completely from top to bottom. Then, stitch a line about an 1/8″ from the top edge completely from left to right. NOW, it is ready to be sewn onto your project. Top stitch the vinyl pocket down about an 1/8″ from the edge along your right, lower, and left edges (obviously, leaving the top edge open). 🙂